


When All's Said and Done

by MickyRC



Category: Slow Show - mia_ugly
Genre: Happy Ending, In-universe fic, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Raising Joshua (Warlock), Trauma, Warlock the TV Show (Slow Show), Worried Erasmus (Warlock), mia_ugly's Slow Show Universe, they were on the run for six years settling down is HARD, this is the strangest thing I've ever done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:09:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22118416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickyRC/pseuds/MickyRC
Summary: "Why shouldn’t I be worried about him?  Go ahead, Will, convince me.”When you've been running for so long (butnotforever, as it turns out), it's hard to remember you're not being chased anymore.(Yes, I've been sucked into writing fic of a show in a fic of a show from a book based on the bible.  I have no explanation.)
Relationships: Erasmus/William (Warlock - Slow Show)
Comments: 38
Kudos: 65
Collections: Slow Show Metaverse, Warlock fic





	When All's Said and Done

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Slow Show](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20395261) by [mia_ugly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mia_ugly/pseuds/mia_ugly). 



> There is not _nearly_ enough post-canon fic of these two, seriously, guys, come on, they _went off into the goddamn sunset together._ Is that not enough? "I can't ask you to come with me, but I want to?" Anybody? No? Sigh. I have to do all the work around here.
> 
> Anyway. Ras and Will adopted Joshua and found a cottage by the sea and are living happily ever after FIGHT ME.

“I don’t like this.”

“My dear, I’ll be perfectly frank with you: I really don’t care.”

Erasmus sputtered and waved a hand towards the window. “How—wha—priest, how the fuck are you  _ not _ worried?!?”

William sighed and flicked his eyes toward the ceiling, but he didn’t even put down the bowl he was washing. “Do you want the full list?”

“There’s a—yeah, no, you know what, sure. Why shouldn’t I be worried about him? Go ahead, Will, convince me.”

William rolled his eyes again. “Alright, for one thing, he’s not a baby anymore.”

Erasmus scoffed. “I know that. Kid’s the size of the fucking dog now.”

“Also,” William continued without pause. “It’s the middle of August, and it’s a beautiful day. Joshua  _ should _ be playing outside.”

“Yeah but not  _ alone _ .” Erasmus dropped onto the kitchen table, which creaked menacingly but somehow managed to stay in one piece. None of the furniture in the cottage was especially nice, or even all that sturdy, but after six years on the road, their standards had dropped considerably. Even now, Erasmus sometimes got a little teary when he remembered he had an actual bed to fall into at the end of the day. “Priest, come on, you can’t tell me you’re not worried about him being alone out there.”

“I’m not,” William said firmly. “Do you want to know why?”

“Oh, this better be good.”

Finally, William turned around to face him. “Because, you scoundrel, he’s  _ not. Alone. _ ”

“Those kids don’t count!”

“They absolutely count.”

“They’re kids!”

“They’re nearly eleven.”

“ _ That’s still kids! _ ”

“This is—Erasmus, for heaven’s sake,  _ that’s the point _ ! They’re kids, it’s a beautiful day, they should be out playing!”

“I—aa _ argh _ .” Erasmus shoved off the table and paced towards the open door again. He planted one hand on the doorframe and the other on his hip, and even with the afternoon light reducing him to a silhouette, William could see that he was struggling to keep his breathing even as he leaned half outside.

With a quiet sigh, William put the bowl down and walked over to him. “He needs the chance to be a normal child, my love,” he said gently. “That’s what we always wanted for him.”

Erasmus’s hand was white knuckled on the doorjamb. “I  _ know _ .” His voice was tight and sharp.

“He needs this kind of freedom. And he needs friends—”

“ _ He’s got us! _ ” Erasmus whipped around and shouted. Then, in the space of a breath, he deflated, slumping forward as his voice went quiet and uneven. “I mean… fuck, Will, it’s just…”

William reached for him. “Come here, darling.” Erasmus fell into his arms, and William held him tightly.

“I’m always so worried,” Erasmus mumbled into his shoulder. “When I don’t know where he is, I—I don’t like it, it makes me think of—” His hands tightened around William’s back. “—of that year we had to split up. I  _ hate _ it."

“That’s alright, dearest. I understand.”

After another moment, Erasmus took a long, shuddering breath and stood straight again, turning away in an attempt to hide that he was wiping his eyes. “Okay. Okay, ah, I’m—I’m good now.”

William pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Always, my love.” The shade of red Erasmus’s face turned was really quite lovely against his eyes.

“Erk.” He swallowed and deliberately looked away. “Er, so. Was that the end of your list, or was there more?”

William raised an eyebrow, though he was smiling. “Still worried, dear?”

“Fuck you.”

“Well, I certainly love you enough for it.” Erasmus fully choked, and William laughed and kissed his nose.

“ _ Priest! _ Priest, when the hell did you get such a dirty mouth? Fucksake… fuck, that should not have been  _ nearly _ as filthy as it was, what the fuck, Will, how am I supposed to cope when you say things like that?”

William grinned and caught Erasmus’s hand in his. “Oh, I think we’ll manage, darling.”

Erasmus smiled, a little too sweet and a little too smitten to be a smirk, and laced their fingers together. Then the smile faltered, and he dropped his eyes to the floor. “Could… um, would you mind telling me the rest? Why I shouldn’t worry?”

William squeezed his hand. “Of course. Let me see…” Carefully, slowly, he tugged Erasmus towards the cushioned chair near the window. It was faded and thirdhand, but still soft and cozy, and big enough to fit both of them crammed in side by side. “It really is a gorgeous day. No chance of rain, and there’s enough of a breeze to keep him cool. He won’t even get close to overheating on a day like this.”

Erasmus cuddled into his side, and William lifted his arm to settle over his shoulders. “What if he gets sunburned?”

“Then we go to Julia and get some cream for it.”

“Mmm,” he hummed against the side of William’s chest. “What else?”

“Well… he’s spent most of his life outside, he knows how to manage. He knows what water is good to drink, so he won’t be thirsty, and he won’t come home sick.”

“What if he gets hungry?”

“He knows how to find berries and fruits and things. Also I packed him a sandwich.”

Erasmus’s laugh rumbled through him like a church bell. “And… the other kids? If they don’t like him?”

William bent to press a kiss to his hair. “Then we comfort him when he comes home and help him find new friends tomorrow.”

“If he gets lost?”

“He’ll wait till the sun starts to go down and follow it to the beach.”

“And if…” William felt Erasmus go a little tense, saw him close his eyes and force a breath. “And if someone tries to take him?” he whispered.

William pulled him closer, up onto his lap, and held him tightly against his chest. “That’s the best thing, my love,” he said gently into his ear. “No one’s trying to anymore.”

**Author's Note:**

> _what the fuck am I doing what the fuck what the fuck this was so strange and so fun what's happening_
> 
> If you're wondering that too, it's the Warlock Party House discord server's fault. All of it. I love them so much.
> 
> Also if you haven't read Slow Show you are missing out. It's an unbelievably good story, and powerful enough to spark a whole subfandom for a show that literally does not exist. _Read it._


End file.
